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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> delegates gather for a london conference on libya. representatives from 40 countries and ohs attend. but there will be no one from libya sitting around the table. britain's representative is already speaking about the end game. >> what happens to him and the people of libya is up to the people, but it's hard to see a future with gaddafi still in power. >> and rebels advance toward capital, but meet stiff opposition. >> welcome to g.m.c., i'm george with the world of news

and opinion. also in the program -- thousands gather in support of syrian president assad, due to give his first public response to days of unprecedented protest. and behind the scenes at buckingham palace. >> it's early morning in washington. 1:00 in the afternoon in tripoli and midday here in london where delegates are gathering for a conference on libya. curiously, anyone with any sort of stake in libya will be in attendance except the libyans themselves. on the ground, forces of opposition with the help of coalition air strikes appear to have ground to a halt. >> colonel gaddafi's troops

shore up their position in his hometown of surt now threatened by the rebels. if the rebels fail, stalemate. government leaders even held a preconference video linkup to try to nail down a way forward. the conference venue is the historic lancaster house where governments will discuss how to carry out air strikes and carry out humanitarian needs. >> it is also to look to the longer term future, the political process by which the people of libya will be able to decide their own future, and it will be turning to that as well. >> there's wide common ground but key differences. turkey, a big, regional player, wants a cease-fire, political

negotiations and beliefs that gaddafi could at least for now, stay in power. >> italy, a former colonial power also wants a cease-fire, a political deal, but with gaddafi leaving the country to exile and it's talking to a number of african governments about this. but britain and france and the u.s. want gaddafi to go and face trial for war crimes and for libyans to work towards choosing a new and more open system of government. libyan television shows casualty victims injured in plane strikes. but it cannot be clairefied.

>> the last official figure that we've. the rebels in their vehicles return. they are -- they have now returned. the rebels on one set -- side of ben jawad and they are using a large amount of rockets, firing them into and over the town of the gaddafi forces, and the gaddafi forces are replying with ar tilly. >> all right, nick.

thank you for that update. >> let's speak to our world affairs correspondent in the capital now. as you know we've got this london conference about to get under way this afternoon. what, if any, has been the reaction to the conference in tripoli? >> well, colonel gaddafi has sent out a letter, strangely unreported here, to the american congress and european parolments and various other people appealing to them to stop what he calls the crusader aggression. the letter says civilians here have been killed by the crusader alliance in the style used by al qaeda terrorists. he says we are a civil people who behind the rebel leadership are facing al qaeda's terrorism on one side and nato's on the other side and says nato is

directly backing al qaeda. stop your unjust savage aggression against libya, he says. it's a strange letter in some ways. but it definitely follows his line that this sort of incompetent he thinks here among colonel gaddafi and his top officials that the west should be treating him like this when only what, four years ago, tony blair was coming here and saying that colonel gaddafi was an honorable member of international society. >> john, as you say, it was incomprehensible, as you said, the letter. but behind those words, do you think there's an attempt, here, to reach out to those people in the coalition who might have some doubts about what exactly is going on? >> i'm sure that's the intention. i'm certain that every time that colonel gaddafi watches on

television what different leaders in the west are saying, president obama, on the one hand, david cameron on the other, president sarkozy in france. he can see all sorts of divisions between them, and i suspect, of course no, under the very restricted conditions that we're kept here, but i suspect that he can see enough room to maneuver to make sure that he'll be able to stay here in power, especially since the rebels seem to be unable to cross that invisible frontier in the central part of the country, which divides them from surt. >> all right, john. thank you very much. thank you. >> well, joining me now is paul, a former r.a.f. wing commander. thank you for joining us. is it fair to say, do you think

that the coalition air forces are collectively acting as if they were air support for the rebels? >> no. i think -- it may sound like i'm dancing on a pin head, but no. there's no coordination. the airpower being used in direct support of the united nations cocouncil resolution and undoubtedly the rebels are able to benefit from that, but it's a bit far to suggest the airpower is being used in any way coordinated or paralleled with the plans of the rebels. >> well, if there's no coordination, is it not a fact that everything the air strikes do help the rebels advance toward the capital? >> as you put it, aren't we just dancing on a pin? >> well, there is a significant difference, on the one hand

you're being included as part of a coherent plan. that would affect your particular target or the weight you put on particular areas, and that's not been the case. the case has been that the coalition has supplied airpower where the gaddafi forces have been attacking civilians, so it's been responsive. so the approach to say we are using the airpower to support the rebellion, it becomes pro active as opposed to react i have. >> what do you think of the limit of relying on airpower alone? >> with regards to what? sorry. >> with regard to what the coalition is doing. they rule out boots on the ground. so what are the limits to what's going on? >> well, it was a crucial element of the security council

resolution, the no-fly zone which haas had always been a bit of a distraction, would not be part of the resolution and the most important thing was nations were given the mandate to take action that had an exact on the ground situation. that gave them the ability to improve their necessary means to actually attack targets on the ground that could -- like artillery, rockets, for example, they could act with impunity without a no-fly zone and by giving ire power full ranges of options to affect the ground is -- but at the end of the day relying on airpower alone has its limitations. so what we have here is a proxy ground force, which is rather ad hoc and rather disorganized which is indirectly acting in our interest, because the

leaders have made it clear, they are anxious to see gaddafi go. >> thank you, very much. and more information on the coalition air strikes on libya, go to our website. there you may find maps, including the targets of coalition air strikes and gaddafi forces. still to come on g.m.t., can it get any worse? what the latest figures are expected to say about the u.s. housing market. in yemen talks to broker a transition away from the 32-year-old rule of the president alley have stadium. there are -- have staled. there are fears the country could break down into chaos. a massive explosion in an ammunitions factory near the town of ja.

>> on the streets of yemen's capital, the music plays on. but for all the optimistic dancing, the protesters have made little headway. for six weeks they have been calling on president alley to step down. but after more than 30 years as ruler, the man himself is skilled at hanging on to power. on sunday he backtracked on an offer to quit by the end of the year. by monday he was looking as assured as ever and urged a group of young supporters to ignore the protesters' appeals. >> they manipulate you like they are using a remote control. god created you as a free people. the presidency should be decided by elections. >> the president said al qaeda extremists in the south are taking advantage to lead an inas you are intelligence as i against his rule, and the

protesters in the capital are, he said, destabilizing the whole country. >> at first we demanded that he leave so we can get on with our lives, but now it's impossible to allow him to leave without a trial. >> but the truth is yemen's future doesn't yet lie in the demonstrators' hands. the president who said he will give no more ground. their struggle is turning into an awkward stalemate. >> this is g.m.t. from "bbc world news" i'm george. the headlines. foreign ministers from more than 40 countries are gathering in london to discuss the next steps toe tackle the crisis in libya. and in libya, itself, rebel fighters say fighters loyal to

gaddafi are using their weapons to check their westward advance. some of the business news now. u.s. house prices. >> they are coming out today. we're expecting to see evidence of the housing market in the u.s. still has not hit the bottom. it's a big problem for the economy. more evidence today. certainly a dire state for the u.s. housing market. the kay shiller index is likely to show a drop in home values. last year the property value over there received temporary boost from government tax incentives. but prices are now wallowing in nine-year lois. >> these neat homes in the new york suburb of queens may look pretty, but many are in forclosure. they've announced 4 million repossessed homes across america. david flors tries to help those

struggling with their mortgage. >> a lot of homeowners purchase too much house. we saw in 2010 roughly 54,000 appointments all related to mortgage delinquencies in our offices across the country. so we are seeing a great increase. >> it's thought u.s. bank forclosures have not yet peaked. but those willing to buy face tougher requirements to qualify for a mortgage. johnathan miller says america's housing market is still not healthy. >> the general trend is still weak. we are not expecting a recovery in the immediate future until we see unemployment improve and we see lenders unload a lot of the forclosures they are still holding in port fell to i don't know. so i think the take away is we have a long way to go. >> california, florida, nevada

and arizona account for almost half of the country's forclosures. but each is working at a different pace to deal with the backlog. >> the u.s. recovery has been stronger in recent months. those here in queens are more opt i have been misk. but the big drag in the u.s. remains the housing market which is still being hit by a large number of forclosures. >> well, let's talk more about japan. particular, shares of tokyo's electric power company tepco, there were plenty of sellers but no buyers, even at a the 20% discount. investors were scared off that the country might have to be nationalized to help it cope with the cast at the fukushima power plant. the minister also said the

government is thinking about imposing state management, adding to those concerns and this is a company that's lost $30 billion in market values. the cost of ensuring its debt as risen 10fold and the debt standing at $92 billion. martin short of if you jits as you research told me why the government of japan would favor nationalization. >> well, bankruptcy is still not common in japan. the banking sector, for example, had been nationalized and tepco is at least as important for the domestic economy. plus, the reorganization overall would be much easier after nationalization and the banks will require strong guarantees right now. >> they sure will. >> this is what we saw in asia. global stocks rebounding on tuesday from those earlier losses, and again, same old

story tied to japan's struggle to contain the world's worst nuclear crisis in decades. the u.s. central banks chief bolsterered her view that the e.c.b. will raise interest rates soon. >> thank you. well, let's take a look at other stories making headlines. fishermen on an italian island blocked the entrance to the harbor to stop the influx of illegal migrants from north africa. around 3,000 new my grants have arrived. florts australia say computers used by the prime minister had been targeted by hackers. reports from ivory coast say forces loyal to the internationally-recognized president have taken the eastern town of button duh can

you from troops loyal to his rile, laurent gbagbo. 462 lives have been claimed in the dispute since the elections, that's according to the u.n. >> the wedding breakfast is an essential part of every wedding. and with one month to go before prince william and kate middleton's big day, things are under way. a very special meal they have to prepare. so what's needed for a wedding feast if it for quite literally, a future king? >> we took a tour. >> the kitchens of buckingham palace well used to preparing private meals for the queen and visiting heads of state. every year this kitchen serves up food for something like 50,000 guests. from the kitchen shelves to the pots and pans the royal chefs

have used to cook for kings and queens for generations. most of the food they have prepared is straightforward based on the british produce, but much is preparing can paises for the kind of reception that will be taking place on the day of the royal wedding. >> for the queen's chef and his team, this is just one of the major events this year. >> whether it's for the visit of president obama or the 90th birthday, the royal wedding, they are all chance in a lifetime events. >> the 600 guests that have been invited to the reception will gather in the state room where they will mingle with the newly married couple where they have been arrived by the royal carriage. the palace officials responsible for organizing the day, it will be the culmination

of months of planning. >> we start planning for events as far out as six months. there's an awful lot of detail to go into all the events we have here. it will involve the event planning itself, invitations, working out the men knews and all the details of the drinks. >> but on thal specifics of the day, as buckingham palace, they are used to saying very little. >> we won't really go into the specifics for the big day, but we always concentrate on showing off the best of british produce. so you can put safely it's best to say from that. >> this particular event is a very joyous occasion, and preparations are going extremely well. >> one month to go now to the royal wedding and in the kitchens of buckingham palace,

everything it seems is ready. nicholas, "bbc world news." >> now, until two weeks ago p.j. crowley was assistant secretary of state of public affairs, one of the most visible people in the obama administration, but he resigned under heavy political suggestion after describing ridiculous, counterproductive and dissuited. now he's been talking in a wide-ranging sprufe he reflects on his time in office and the nato mission in libya and that america is engaging in double standards in the middle east. here's his thoughts on the libya issue. >> i would contrast what's happening in libya with the campaigns in iraq and afghanistan. they are totally different magazine any attitudes and of totally different purpose. there's no question that in

protecting civilians, you're also protecting the political opposition, you are creating a level playing field 10th opposition has a fair opportunity to make its case to the libyan people and to force gaddafi to step down. >> that was on "hard talk." you can see the full interview here on "bbc world news" at the times on your screen now. p.j. resigned on the heavy political pressure after describing the pentagon's treatment of bradley, the soldier suspected of spilling information on wikileaks as counterproductive and stupid. i'd like to take you to westminster in london where delegates are arriving for that conference on libya. we see some of them now. that conference, some 40 countries and representatives of countries and organizations including the african union,

the e.u., they are all there at this conference. looking at two things, the british foreign secretary william hague says he's interested in laying the groundwork for the future of libya, but more importantly and immediately they are talking tabblet humanitarian services that are needed in that country. hillary clinton will be at the conference. there's pictures of her there. she will be attending after the comments from president obama who made very clear what he thought the limits of america's involvement would be, basically saying regime change, that was not the u.n.'s business. it was about protecting civilians. we heard today from president gaddafi's comments on the conference, hoping to exploit any divisions there. that was from our correspondent, john simpson. that's all for us.

more to come. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold, get the top stories from around the globe and click-to-play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank.

>> union bank has put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los